Feeder



Nov. 24; 1953 G. D. FRIEDEL 2,660 89 FIG.

Inventor: m GEORGE D. FRIEDEL,

Attorney Patented Nov. 24, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 5 Claims.

The present invention relates to feeders, more particularly to means formoving animal food automatically from a source of supply tostrategically located feeding stations. It has reference to an auxiliarysupply source adapted to be employed with the so called power drivenfeeder whereby a constant, uniform flow of food to the stations isassured eventhough the main or primary source of food is exhausted.

It has always been a serious problem on poultry farms, especially onfarms raising large numbers of chickens and other fowls, to provideadequate feeding, although in recent years, this problem has beenalleviated by the introduction of various types of automatic feeders.Perhaps the most widely used automatic feeder has been the power drivenchain assembly, and in brief this unit includes a suitably locatedtrough arrangement in which a chain belt is mounted, a power source, adrive connection between the belt and the power source and a supplyhopper or storage bin so disposed as to admit the feed into the troughwhere-- by the movement of the belt will carry the feed through thetrough to feeding stations. While this apparatus is satisfactory,experience has demonstrated that the capacity of the system is somewhatlimited thus necessitating a constant inspection of the supply hopper todetermine its contents and because of the rather limited size of thehopper, it frequently requires refilling described which will overcomethe above and other disadvantageous characteristics currently present inthe art.

Another object of my invention is to provide an auxiliary feeder for usewith power driven chain feeders for poultry houses and the like whereinthe movement of the chain is utilised to actuate an agitating assemblywithin the auxiliary feeder to prevent the contents from clogging thedischarge outlet and insure an even feed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a feed hopper foremployment with power'driven chain belt poultry feeders which is simplein structural detail, positive and eflicient in operation and'capable ofbeing readily and cheaply manufactured. I

To achieve the above and other objects, the

invention broadly comprises a hopper or bin of auxiliary hopperdesignated generally [2.

spect to the trough that the discharge outlet of the hopper will beabove the trough, an agitating unit pivotally mounted within the hopper,an actuating arm connected to the agitating unit and. having its freeend in contact with the chain belt and resilient means operativelyattached to the agitating unit to maintain the free end of the armagainst the belt whereby movement of the belt will impart a slightvertical displacement of the arm to move the agitating unit about itspivot thereby preventing clogging of the feed and assisting its fiowtoward the discharge outlet for deposit into the trough.

Other and additional objects of the invention will become apparent fromthe following description and attached drawings which form part of theapplication.

Reference will be had to the accompanying drawings depicting a preferredembodiment of the inventive concept wherein like numerals denote thesame or similar parts and in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus, a fragment of the trough andassociated chain belt being illustrated.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 2--2 ofFigure 1, the View being taken in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 33 of Figure1, the view being taken in the direction of the arrows.

With reference to the drawings, and particularly Figure 2, I haveindicated a portion of a feed trough I ll having a feed device such as achain belt II movable therein and my novel The trough l 0 may be of anydesired length and configuration and may be located either interiorly orexteriorly of the chicken house and the belt 1 i is operativelyconnected with a suitable power source, usually disposed in the feedroom. A storage bin (not shown) is also situated in the feed room abovethe trough to supply the feed to the belt for movement through thetrough.

The hopper i 2 includes aligned pairs of spaced legs or standards l3,the legs being positioned on opposite sides of the trough and preferablyconverging toward the upper ends to afford a more stable structure.Transversely and longitudinally extending members I4 and I5 areconveniently secured to the upper ends of the legs 13 and horizontalflange it of a hopper ii is supported by the members it and :5. Ifnecessary, the flange It may be attached to members It and It by boltsor the like.

The hopper ll has side walls 18 which may follow the contour of theinner faces of the legs l3 and merge with a tapered or inclined bottomwall l9 and the bottom wall is formed with a longitudinally disposeddischarge outlet Zil located immediately above the belt H in the troughH). A support 2| is preferably positioned beneath the trough to maintainthe trough and outlet 20 in the proper relationship and to preventsagging of the trough.

An agitatorunitdenoted 28 is mountedfivithih the hopper i? and includesa front section 22A and a rear section 2213. The sections 22A and 223may be supported by a strap 23 which is twisted at its midpoint toprovide a horizontal:-

surface 2d which may be welded or otherwise afiixed to a transverselyextending rod 24?;- eaclr end of which may be journalled in the sidewalls of the hopper and/or in the middle pair of legs l3 as shown at 26so that the agitator may ha've a limited pivotal movement about thehorizontal axis.

The section 22A consists of a plurality of' parallel laterally extendingrods. 21 affixed to the: strap- 2-5 and reinforced by parallel rods 28'secured to the rods 21 at the desired intervals, the'rods ZSbeing atrightangles to the rods 21-. Vertical elements 29 preferably depend fromthe strap 2-3. and are attached at their lower ends to a: horizontalsupport 31 of somewhat greater length than the-strap. 23; A plurality oflateral characters are employed with the exception that they are primed.

The forward.- end of the strap 23 is-provided with an angular arm 82which may; be integrally for-med therewith and which is of such lengthasto extend into the trough it; of the arm 32 supports a roller or otherrotatable surface 3-3 which-isadapted to engage the chain belt H. in anangular brace 35 supported by the forward endwall'of' the hopper Hand-theslot is of such depth as to permit the arm to have alimitedmovement therein. In order to maintain the roller 33- in contact withthe chain belt llit will be noted; in Figure 2 that a helical springtiis-anchoredat' oneend-to the rear: end of the strap. 2-3; as-indicatedat 31, and at its opposite end toan ear or lug 38 suitably attached tothe end wall of the hopper I? inproximity to the upper end thereof. Aspreviously indicated, the support 3% is of greater length than the strap23- in orderthat the forward end may be spot welded or otherwise securedto the arm 32 at a point above the roller 33, as indicated at 39.Consequently, the sections 22A, 22B, strap 23, support 311- and thearm32 provide in effect a unitary structure which is quite sturdy and isnot subject to being easily damaged. Ehe hopper'might have a slide gate40 with handle 4i and movable in suitable guideways 42 to regulate thefeedfrom the hopper.

While the operation of the auxiliary feeding hopper is thought to bereadily apparent from the above description, it may be brieflysummarized: as follows:

The free end- The arm 32 projects through a slot: 34'

The hopper I2 is disposed at the desired location above the trough l0and, of course, is filled with feed such as mash, grain, pellets, andthe like. Upon activation of the power source, movement is imparted tothe chain belt II and as the transverse bars of the belt pass beneaththe arm 32 the roller 33 will alternately rise and fall which in turnwill rock the agitator unit 22 about its pivot and the movement of thesections 223%. and; 22B will? maintain a free" and uniform flow of thefeed through the discharge outlet 20 upon the belt II and at the sametime tend to prevent the feed from clogging within the hopper. Theforegoing cycle will, of course, continue so long as the power source isoperating and? upon inactivation of the power source, the springtfiwill-hold the roller 33 in engagement withthe chain;

It also possible to provide the legs [3 with casters in order that theunit may be readily moved in. the event it is desired-to change. thelocation: of the auxiliary hopper along the trough [0.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing description that I haveprovided a feedhopper which may be employed with conventional auto--matic chain feeders for poultry houses for assuring. an adequatemovement of feedin the troughs to enable thefowl to receivethe sameamount of feed throughout the length of the trough. Furthermore, theagitating: assembly, by having its actuating member operated bythemovement of the belt, willeffect a uniform flow of the feed into thetrough The feeder includes relatively few essential working parts andmay be easily and inexpensively fabricated: Byvirtueof itsautomatic-operation labor costs are held to aminimum which ismostdesirable.

While Ihave shown and described but a single embodiment of my concept,it is to-b'e considered as illustrative and the scope. of the inventionis a horizontalaxis, agitating elements supported by the longitudinallyextending member, an actuating arm carried by the longitudinallyextending member and having its free end forwardly of: thelongitudinally extending member and in contact with the chain belt,andresilient means-operatively connected to-the longitudinally extendingmember and. the hopper to maintain the free end ofthe arm against thebelt whereby movement. of the. belt will alternately raise and: lowerthe arm to rock the longitudinally extendingnicmber about its pivot sothat the agitating elements will effect a free flow of the feed. intothe trough.

2. A hopper asclaimed in claim 1 wherein at least certain of theagitating elements depend from the longitudinally extending member to apoint in proximity to the trough.

3. A supply hopper for depositing poultry feed into a trough disposedbelow the outlet. of the hopper. comprising a chain belt movable in thetrough, a horizontal shaft extending. transversely ofthe hopper andjournalled in the walls'of the hopper, a support extendinglongitudinally of the hopper and secured to said shaft, and agitatingunit carried. by said supportv intermediate each end of the supportandthe shaft, an actu- I ating arm extending downwardly from one end ofthe support forwardly of the agitating unit, a roller on the free end ofthe arm in contact with the chain belt, and spring means connected tothe opposite end of the support and to the hopper to maintain the rolleragainst the belt whereby movement of the belt will alternately raise andlower the arm to rock the support so that the agitating units willeffect a free flow of the feed through the hopper outlet into thetrough.

4. A hopper for poultry feeds adapted to be located above a feed troughhaving a driven chain belt movable therein comprising a support memberwithin the hopper arranged in substantial parallelism to the drivenchain belt, means pivotaJlly mounting the support member within thehopper for movement toward and away from the driven chain belt, anagitating assembly carried by said support member, an actuating armsecured to the support member and having its free end terminatingadjacent the chain belt, rotary means carried by the free end of the armand operatively engaging the chain belt whereby movement of the beltwill alternately raise and 6 lower the arm to rock the support memberabout its pivot to efiect a free flow of the feed into the trough.

5. A hopper as defined in and claimed by claim 4 further characterizedin that spring means is secured to the support member and to the hopperto maintain the rotary means in engagement with the chain belt.

GEORGE D. FRIEDEL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 426,245 Craig Apr. 22, 1890 976,483 Mitchell Nov. 22, 19101,537,123 Leopold May 12, 1925 1,783,092 Lewis Nov. 5, 1930 1,996,044Green Mar. 26, 1935 2,286,143 Lee June 9; 1942 2,563,321 Dugan Aug. '7,1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 710,757 France Aug. 8, 1931

